Jim Cooksey, a representative of the union, had this to say about the protest in Salt Lake City today:

“We are concerned about the exporting of coal to overseas markets
in that there are no environmental standards once the coal leaves our
borders. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers understands the
issue of climate change and is looking to secure alliances with other
labor and environmental organizations to find solutions that protect
workers and the environment.“

This comes on top of a 50 person rally
of directly impacted community members held yesterday in Longview, WA
calling on the local government to act in the best interests of the
community, not out of state coal corporations. They want to permits
revoked, as does a growing coalition of environmental and community
groups up and down the Pacific Northwest coast.

Last week, it was revealed that Ambre had knowingly deceived officials
in Washington about the amount of coal they planned to ship through
Longview. They had said 5 tons of coal annually, but recently discovered
documents revealed that to only be “phase 1.” “Phase 2″ will be 25
million tons and “Phase 3″ will be 6o million tons of coal annually.

And Ambre knows they are in the wrong. When they got wind of the Salt
Lake City protest, they shut their offices down for the day.

It’s time to draw a line in the sand and stop this first coal export
terminal. If so, then we’ll make it a lot harder for the others to see
fruition.